Here We Are Again
by ConsultingHunterOfGalifrey
Summary: Lucifer's returned and the apocolypse looms yet again, but this time it's complicated… (inspired by thejadedkiwano on Tumblr's theory)
1. Prologue: Yes

_ May 14, 2014_

_ I should've seen it coming. _

_ But everything was pure chaos leading up to this. We had angels everywhere, at war with each other. Metatron and Gadreel. Abaddon. *Sigh* Abaddon's the reason we're even in this mess. _

_ For once, things seemed to be going our way. We ganked our angel problems: Metatron, Gadreel, Bartholomew, Malachi… We even got the other angels back up. (Bobby, Kevin, and everyone else up there; we're all sorry you have to deal with them again…) Hell, Cas got his true Grace back! Things were looking up…_

_ …Then we went after Abaddon._

_ I knew something was wrong with him. In the car, he kept shaking his head and muttering "no", each time a bit more panicked. Come to think of it, he seemed to be spacing out a lot the past few days. even talking to himself when he thought I wasn't around. I asked if anything was wrong, but he kept insisting he was fine. Like he always does._

_ Like I always do._

_ When we finally tracked her down to an old warehouse, things took a bad turn._

_ "Can't you feel it?" She said to us with a smile. "Should be familiar to you. He's back…" She chuckled a bit._

_ My blood ran cold. She could only mean one person: Lucifer. How could HE be back? She had to be lying. But I wasn't going to let HIM ruin our lives again. I lunged at her, my brother right behind me._

_ It was a furious struggle. She threw us around; we fired Devil's Trap bullets at her. She beat the crap out of us…_

_ …That is, until we miraculously got The First Blade through her gut. _

_ As she fell over, dead at last, my brother ran over to me. He looked like hell. From the look in his eyes, I can only assume I did, too. He snarled all of a sudden and bolted away._

_ "No! I'm not letting you in!" He shouted to himself._

_ There was silence._

_ "You've been tormenting me all week! Using that little piece you have inside me to get in my head! But I still say "no"!"_

_Silence._

_ "Yeah, well, you should know I'm a stubborn little…"_

_ He clutched his head and started screaming. He looked at me and shouted my name in horror. Tears were streaming down his face. _

_ "N…no…" He said, weaker._

_ He paused and dropped to his knees. I called out his name. It finally hit me what was going on._

_ "Don't do it! You can't let him in!" I shouted. But it was too late._

_ In a broken voice, Dean said yes._

_ There was a brilliant light. He got up. I could tell he wasn't Dean anymore. Lucifer smiled at me. "Hello again, Sam? Miss me?" He said, holding his arms out. "What do you think?"_

_ I didn't say a word. He frowned. "Now, is that any way to treat an old friend? One as close as I was?" He tutted. "Well, I gotta go. Unfinished business, you know…" And with that, Lucifer was gone. Along with my brother._

_ I prayed for Cas. He appeared not much later. "Sam, what's wrong?" he asked, healing me up. He looked around. "Where's Dean?"_

_ I started shaking. Cas looked at me and I could tell he understood. He went catatonic, fury dancing in his eyes. I punched the concrete floor and yelled Dean's name out at the top of my lungs._

_ I swear, I'm going to get you back, Dean. I don't care what it takes. It's my turn to save you. It's my turn to set things right…_

_-Sam_


	2. Chapter 1: Team Free Dean

"Sam?" Cas asked. Sam sat in front of his laptop, looking at the journal entry. He shook his head, shut the laptop, and stood up.

"Yeah?"

"I found and brought him in…" Castiel said. He stepped aside, revealing Crowley. Sam charged up to the demon and pinned him to the wall, lifting him to eye level.

"THIS IS _YOUR_ FAULT!" He shouted at Crowley, seeing red. "_YOU_ LET HIM TAKE THE MARK! YOU _WANTED_ HIM TO! THAT PIECE OF LUCIFER! NOW HE'S GONE!"

"Down, Moose." Crowley said. "How was I supposed to know Abaddon was breaking Lucifer out of the cage? I was a bit too busy _**BEING HELD AGAINST MY WILL AND FIGHTING TO TAKE MY THRONE BACK FROM THAT PSYCHOTIC HARPY**_!" He shouted with a glare.

"That's enough. Both of you!" Cas said, getting between both of them. Sam sighed and let Crowley go. Crowley dropped down and straightened out his suit.

"I just… I can't believe this is happening… I mean, Dean being taken over by Lucifer…" Sam said.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility. You may be Lucifer's true vessel, but you and your brother are obviously of the same bloodline. It makes sense that he could use Dean as well…"

"Right. Like how Michael could use Dad and Adam. It's just… Why did Dean let him in?"

"Does it really matter right now?" Crowley asked. "We have Lucifer out and about, here to finish what he started, and he won't be too keen on letting certain people run around free…" He said, pointing to himself. "Especially those of us who took over his throne…"

"If Lucifer's free, Michael could be out as well…" Cas added.

"And maybe Adam…" Sam mused. "But, one brother at a time… We need to stop Lucifer."

"We don't have the Horsemen's rings…" Crowley pointed out.

"And I doubt you're willing to put Dean in The Cage, anyway…" Cas stated. "Not that I would, either…"

Sam shook his head. "I'm not leaving Dean alone with Lucifer down there. I know what it's like down there."

"Well, my dears, that just leaves us with _oodles_ of options, doesn't it?" Crowley said, rolling his eyes.

Sam sighed. "Yeah, but this time we have The Men of Letters's resources. We can find a way…"

"We don't even know where Lucifer is!" Crowley stated.

"I swear, I will try to find him, Sam…" Cas declared.

"We're all going to look for him, Cas…"

"Excuse me, but _ALL_ of us?" Crowley asked. "I'm going to be avoiding him like the plague. To him, I'm the insubordinate little worm who helped you boys lock him back up in the first place!"

Sam glared at Crowley. "Look, it's taking all my effort not to murder you for what you've done. Don't push it…"

Crowley was taken aback a moment. "I must say, Moose. I do love it when get like this…" Crowley said with a smirk. Sam almost charged at him again, but Cas held him back. "But we do need each other." Crowley continued. "I can hold down the fort and look for answers while you and the angel look for our darling Dean…"

Sam sighed. "Fine. Well, Team Free Will, together again, for the most part."

"More like Team Free Dean…" Cas suggested.

Crowley look his head. "Cheesy. Just cheesy." He sighed. "A hunter that's been broken too many times, an offbeat angel, and The once and future King of Hell versus Lucifer and the apocalypse. Humanity is doomed…"

Sam sighed. It was going to be a long few days. "Don't count us out so soon…"

~0~

A/N: Okay, so I didn't mention it in an AN at the end of the prologue, but I got the inspiration for the fic the "Dean becomes Lucifer's vessel" by a Tumblr theory (credit for the initial idea goes to thejadedkiwano on Tumblr) You can look it up and read it, it's mind-blowing! I tried to explain it here, though. Carry on, my wayward companions! -CH


	3. Chapter 2: The Devil Inside

Jimmy Novak's description didn't even begin to describe what Dean was feeling.

His "body" initially felt like it was burning, but at the same time it was freezing. Every fiber of his being felt like it was being pulled away. It was like he was loosing his grip on everything. But he couldn't scream.

Then he felt nothing. His mind and soul were completely disconnected from the physical world. He was in a white void. But he was still aware of everything.

Everything Lucifer did in his body, Dean was along for ride. He let out a primal yell. He saw a figure form beside him. A familiar blond man. "Lucifer…" he snarled.

"Hello again, Dean! Thanks for renting the place out to me. I swear, I'm a _great_ roommate…" Lucifer said with a smug grin. "I've been browsing around your head, and I'm loving it here. A bit of a fixer-upper, but I'll make do…" He changed his appearance to Sam's. More specifically, the Sam Dean saw in the bad future. The one possessed by Lucifer.

"I told you we'd always end up here…" he said in Sam's voice. "Though in retrospect, I was kinda vague about whether it'd be us and Sam…"

Dean ran up to Lucifer to throttle him. Lucifer flicked is wrist and launched Dean away from him. "Dean, it's as if you don't want me here. _You_ took The Mark, after all…"

"You know why I took it! And I don't!"

"Yeah, but remember our little deal." Lucifer put his hand over his chest. "I can't promise I'll uphold it if I'm wearing someone else…" Lucifer said, wagging his finger at Dean. He smiled. "Besides, do you know the damage I could do to you if I left? Remember my brother's vessel?"

Dean did remember Raphael's first vessel. The man was so broken. Alive in only the vaguest sense of the word. Dean hated to imagine what Lucifer would do to him, purely out of spite.

"Besides, lucky for you, I didn't completely cut you off or banish your soul. No, you a front row seat to the end. You get to see experience little thing I do with your body. See every person I kill, hear every scream, smell every burning corpse, all of it! Seems only fitting, seeing as you locked me up in The Cage all those years. And then took Sam's soul from me…" Lucifer growled.

"I'm not giving up! I'll find a way out! Or Sam and Cas will!" Dean shouted.

"As if I'm scared of Castiel. He breaks so easily. As for Sam? We'll see about him…" Lucifer grinned sinisterly (an action made more unnerving by the fallen archangel wearing his brother's face).

"Welcome back to Hell, Dean Winchester…"


	4. Chapter 3: First Hunt

_ May 19, 2014_

_ Cas and I just "finished" a hunt today. The first since Dean disappeared. I would've preferred continuing to help track down Lucifer and finding a way to trap him. But Crowley insisted we go._

_"We haven't found a lead yet, Sam! And you two are no help to me in your state. Go hunt something. The world doesn't stop because Dean's gone. I'll keep searching…"_

_ I hate to admit it, but Crowley was right. I still have to carry on the family business. "Maybe some normalcy _could_ help," I thought. Dean would want me to go on and fight this thing until the end. I found a case and me and Cas were off._

_ I know its weird, but as soon as we got in The Impala, it felt almost… wrong. Being behind the wheel instead of Dean, like it usually was. Cas riding shotgun instead. I know I've hunted without Dean before, but given the circumstances… It couldn't be helped, though. We had work to do, after all._

_ There was a string of murders and robberies throughout New Jersey. Funny thing was, the bodies were usually found not long after the robberies. Their autopsies showed the victims (all connected to the site of the robberies) had been dead for days. But people they knew swore they'd been alive just hours ago. The papers' called them "The Time Warp Murders"._

_ Yeah, it seemed like or sort of thing._

_ The recent robbery/murder (a bank) confirmed what we were dealing with. Me and Cas, (or rather; "Agents Black and Lupin") went to the police department to see what they had. Get this, it turns out they had security footage this time. There was a group of men in nice suits. All of them were completely identical. There was also the bank manager, the recent victim, helping load up money. Pretty eagerly by the looks of things. _

_ Each of them, at one point or another, glanced at the camera. All their eyes reflected. "Pretty damn weird, right?" The officer had said. I nodded, thanked the officer, and me and Cas left. _

_ "We got shifters." I told Cas. _

_ "They haven't been around since Crowley killed the Alpha…" Cas stated. "They all sort of scattered when he died; and went into hiding. Some must've organized…"_

_ "So it looks like we have shifter mobsters. Dean would've killed to work this case…" I said._

_ Cas put his hand on my shoulder. "We _will_ find Dean, Sam. If I know Dean Winchester, and I do, he's fighting Lucifer from the inside as we speak…" He said, giving me that sad puppy look he'd more or less patented. There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice._

_ Cas figured out the Shifter Mob had been working their way northwest. We decided to drive to the next town and stop them there. We didn't have to search long. The shifters were tracking us, too. They found us at our motel. _

_ It obviously led to a fight. They were armed and vicious. Thankfully, I had a silver knife with me. I managed to stab and kill three of them. Cas smited two at once, then a third for good measure. (Personally, I thought it was a bit overkill, but whatever. It got the job done…) I slashed the last one across the face, leaving a nasty gash. He retaliated by hitting me across the head with a chair and knocking me out._

_ Cas woke me up not long after. He said the shifter got away, and offered to go after him. I told him no. He could be anywhere now. Besides, I figured we should go back to The Bunker._

_ I'm sure Dean would berate me for letting the shifter go. I'm pretty mad about it, too. Cas even seems a little irritated with me. _

_But here's the thing: I would've landed a more fatal blow, but I just… My head's just not in it right now. It's miles away, hoping my brother's going to survive. I think Cas understands, sort of._

_ …All I want is to find Dean. The sooner I get him back from Lucifer, then end the Archangel, the better…_

_-Sam_


	5. Chapter 4: Breakthrough

Sam and Cas returned to The Bunker, tired of driving. In retrospect, Cas could have teleported them back, but he wasn't sure he could teleport the Impala, too. They knew Dean would kill them if they abandoned The Impala, and Sam couldn't leave it behind, either.

Crowley was on the phone, having a rather heated discussion with whoever was on the line. Sam was about to ask him if he made any progress on Dean. Crowley pressed his fingers to his lips and glared at Sam. "This is important, Moose" he mouthed.

"Yeah, I'm still here, Dorian. Look, I _know_ you hate using human phone lines, but… Uh huh…"

Sam shook his head and went to the books. He started researching ways to defeat Lucifer again. Cas placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and took the book from his hands.

"_Sam_. You've been driving for hours and haven't slept in days. You and I both know what that does to a body. Let me research ways to defeat Lucifer. You need to rest…"

Sam shook his head. "I have to do this. Dean would…"

"…Dean would want you to take care of yourself! You're not alone, Sam, you have me and Crowley…"

"I know! I just… I know what it's like, having Lucifer in control. I don't want Dean to suffer through it anymore than he has to…"

"Yes. I _understand_. But…"

"Ciao!" Crowley said as he hung up the phone. "Well, that was one of the few remaining supporters I have left. Honestly, Lucifer returns and _everyone_ goes to follow him like a sheep…" he tisked. "But he had a lead on Deanifer."

Sam snapped his attention to the demon. "What?"

"Turns out our favorite archangel is apparently working his way to Detroit. No one quite knows why, but he's stopping to raise hell along the way. His last known location was Missouri…"

"That doesn't give us much time." Sam said with a frown. "This is the best news I've had all week, though. If we get there first, we could stop him! Cas, get in the car! We have to…!"

Cas touched Sam's forehead (which was no small feat). The hunter tumbled over, asleep. Cas managed to catch him and patted his back. "Sorry, Sam…"

Crowley shook his head and laughed. "You magicked him asleep? _Cas_…"

"If Sam will not take care of himself, I will…" Cas replied.

Crowley raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, then… You two might want to leave soon. Lucifer's route's been unpredictable…"

Cas nodded, and he and the sleeping Sam popped out of the room. Their next stop: Detroit.


	6. Chapter 5: Instrument Of Murder

A/N: I feel it only right to warn that this chapter's violent… Carry on carefully, my Wayward Companions… -CH

"You sure hold one hell of a grudge…" Dean said. "No pun intended…"

Lucifer was standing over Cain, violently stabbing at The Father of Murder with The First Blade. The demon had been long since dead by now, but he continued to hack at his corpse.

"Just fulfilling your promise. You were going to kill him anyway, weren't you?" Lucifer asked, still appearing to Dean as his brother.

"Yeah, but I was going to stab and go. Not mutilate him!"

Lucifer shrugged. "Well, he killed my Knights…"

"I thought you hated demons. They were next on your hit list after humans…"

"What can I say? I grew attached to them. I still would've put them down, but they'd at least go last…"

Dean felt sick. It was like torturing in Hell all over again. Lucifer looked over at him and smirked. He stepped away from the bloody hash that was Cain.

"Brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Lucifer said. "But we have places to go…" He teleported them to another city.

"What do you even want in Detroit, anyway?"

"I have something I need to pick up. A little… Insurance…"

Dean didn't like the sound of that. And he couldn't comb through Lucifer's mind like the angel could with his. He noticed where they were. "This isn't Detroit…" He said. "So why're we stopping?"

"And here I thought Sam was the brains… It's just a little fun…" Lucifer replied. He grabbed a random woman off the street and dragged her to the alley. He proceeded to smash her head into a wall. She tried to cry out, but Lucifer started strangling her.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Dean shouted.

"You said it yourself, I hold a grudge. And I want you to know it was your body responsible for killing this woman. That you were an instrument of murder, and you couldn't do a thing. Her blood's going to be on your hands, and you're going to feel every moment…" He said.

It was true. Dean could feel the woman's throat, constricted in his hands. As she was going limp, Lucifer let go, only to repeatedly stab her. Blood splattered the alleyway. Finally, he snapped her neck. She fell to the ground.

Internally, Dean was shaking. He collapsed to his knees. It was giving him flashbacks to Hell again. All the torture. The first one…

Lucifer smiled, smug with satisfaction. "Enough detours. We need to get to Detroit. Before he shows up…"

"Who's he?" Dean said, feeling like he was going to throw up.

Lucifer said nothing. He only glared into the distance as they teleported away.


	7. Chapter 6: Heart's Desire

Sam and Cas had been searching for Lucifer all day. Sam was growing frustrated. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the motel room's mini-fridge aggressively. "Anything, Cas?"

"I've been searching everywhere, Sam. He isn't here yet… Though I did discover something…" the angel replied, tossing Sam a newspaper. "A woman murdered her husband recently. It's one of a string of similar murders. It might be sirens…"

"There's something I haven't seen in years…" Sam said. "Well, great. We have that to deal with, too…" He added, exasperated.

"Since you have experience with this sort of thing, you look for the siren. I will continue searching for Lucifer. Will you need anything to kill it?"

"Yeah, a bronze dagger…"

Cas disappeared from the room, then reappeared a moment later. "It took a while, but I found a dagger…"

Sam nodded and snatched the dagger. Cas disappeared again. Sam groaned. It felt like Cas was trying to keep him from helping Dean. He sighed and went to investigate the siren.

~0~

After much research, it turned out that all the siren-influenced murderers had something in common. Upon further investigation, they had all gone to at least one funeral in the past few months, at the same funeral home. Each of the murderers, when Sam interviewed them, mentioned that the funeral worker was "just like" the one person they lost. And that they were "just so kind, and they gave me a glass of water every time…"

Sam knew he had to head to the funeral home. He was pulling out the bronze dagger when he remembered something important.

He didn't have the infected blood of a siren's victim.

That's when he got an idea…

~0~

Sam waited in the lobby for the funeral worker. He hoped his plan would work. He heard the door open and gasped.

A man his thirties entered. He had green eyes and sandy hair. He was like an ersatz Dean. The false Dean smiled. "Hey, how can I help you?"

Sam pulled out a badge. "I need to know if you know about the recent murders…"

The man shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Care for a glass of water?"

Sam shook his head. "Don't play dumb. I know what you are…"

The siren tilted his head. "Oh. You do?"

Sam nodded, hoping things would go according to plan.

"Is it _really_ so wrong what I'm doing? I'm giving them a little piece of who they lost…"

"…Then making them murder the few loved ones they have left? Forgive me if I don't call you a saint…"

The siren scowled. "Here, maybe if I give you a little taste…" he charged at Sam.

The two fought until the siren slammed Sam into a bookshelf. It collapsed on the hunter, pinning him to the ground. The siren wrenched his mouth open and spat into it. Sam felt the venom taking hold.

All according to plan.

"You've lost your brother. You feel terrible because your relationship was on the rocks, don't you? No matter what, you still love him deep down. He's the only family you have left, after all. Well, let me fill the void, Sammy. You just got to get rid of one little thing…"

"CAS!" He called, praying for the angel.

Cas appeared instantaneously. He lifted the bookcase off Sam. Sam went in to attack Cas, but the angel pinned him to the wall and sliced his arm with the bronze dagger. He shoved Sam aside and turned his attention to the siren.

Cas hesitated a moment when he saw the siren (or rather, who it resembled). The siren charged at him. Cas, in turn, stabbed it in the stomach.

Sam snapped out of the spell. He saw as Cas stabbed the siren a few more times, despite it being dead. Sam called Cas's name. Cas snapped out of the trance-like state he was in and helped Sam up, healing his cut.

Sam started feeling bad for being frustrated with the angel. He knew Cas wanted to save Dean just as much as he did. But he was still trying to look out for him. Sam had a feeling he had to look out for Castiel, too, though.

"Ugh. You can't count on a siren for _anything_…"

Sam and Cas both stiffened at the voice. It sounded so heartbreakingly familiar, but it felt so foreign. They turned around.

"_Dean_!"

"_Lucifer_…"

~0~

Alright, I _was_ on hiatus for this fic a bit to wrap up "Open The Floodgates" (haven't finished. I almost am, though…), but I had this chapter and just had to finish. Soon as I wrap up "Floodgates", I'll devote more time to _this_ fic! Yay! \(^o^)/

Carry On, My Wayward Companions! -CH


	8. Chapter 7: Brother Of Mine

"Sam, we _must_ stop meeting like this…" Lucifer said, smirking at him. His eyes darted to Castiel. "And Cas, I haven't seen you since you molotoved Michael. I seem to recall you exploding…"

Cas just glared at Lucifer. "_Don't_ call me "Cas"…"

"Aw, c'mon." Lucifer replied, doing his best Dean impression. "I thought you liked it when I called you "Cas"…"

Cas stepped forward. "Lucifer, get _out_ of Dean…" He demanded.

Lucifer pretended to ponder Castiel's order. "Hmm… Nope! Dean _wants_ me in here, remember? We have a little deal going on. I gotta say, he's grown on me." He smirked. "I can see why you're so fond of the messed up little bast-"

Cas tackled Lucifer. He proceeded to punch him in the face. "GET! OUT! OF! HIM!" Cas shouted, each word punctuated by a punch.

Sam ran over to help. Lucifer simply laughed and shoved the two away with his telekinesis. Lucifer turned his attention to Sam. The archangel pinned the hunter against the wall. He proceeded to imprison him in a crude barricade of furniture.

"Stay back, Junior. The adults are talking…"

He went over to Castiel. Lucifer grabbed the angel by his hair and dragged him back towards Sam. He repeatedly slammed Cas's head into the desk. Cas took the bronze knife and stabbed Lucifer in the leg. Lucifer let go.

"Was that supposed to kill me?" He hissed.

Cas got up, wiping the blood from his face. "Sadly, no…" He spat out some blood and removed his trenchcoat. He drew his angel blade.

"Nice toy…" Lucifer said, drawing his archangel blade. "But mine's better…"

The two continued to clash at each other. Cas was constantly trying to wrestle Lucifer's blade from him. Both landed cuts on the other. Then Lucifer grabbed Cas's arm. He twisted it behind his back. Lucifer wrestled the angel blade out of his grip. He kicked Cas to the floor.

Lucifer yawned and strolled over to the angel. "Cas, you're barely a challenge. It was cute at first…" He said, stepping on Castiel's hand. "But now it's gotten old…" He stabbed the angel blade through Cas's arm and to the floor. Cas cried out in pain. Lucifer knelt down over Castiel. He pinned his head down and raised his blade, ready to stab him.

"DEAN! I know you're in there!" Cas called out. "You can't do this." Tears welled in the angel's eyes. You're my family. I-I need you…" He choked out. "_Sam_ needs you…"

Sam was trying to wrestle his way out the barricade. "_Dean, NO_!" He called out.

Their words made Lucifer pause. For a moment, he looked like Dean again. Sam continued to try and escape the barricade.

Suddenly, Crowley appeared. "Why the HELL aren't you answering your phone, Sam? I have…" He noticed Lucifer straddling Cas. "Aw, f-"

Lucifer stood up. Any trace of Dean was gone again. "Well, if it isn't The Usurper." He said, momentarily forgetting Castiel. He stood up and gripped Crowley's throat with his telekinesis.

"Hey, they chose to follow me, didn't they?" Crowley said, voice strangled.

Lucifer raised his hand. He was about to snap Crowley out of existence. Sam had almost escaped the barricade. He hurried to get out.

But then something strange happened.

"Okay, I've seen enough…" A voice said. Suddenly Sam, Cas, and Crowley were teleported out of the room.

Lucifer swore. _He_ found them.

~0~

Dean was livid. "WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR DEAL!?"

"You didn't say anything about Castiel. He is fair game." Lucifer replied, again taking the form of his first vessel. "Besides, Sam wasn't in danger. Not with me or the siren. You know that…"

He then walked over to Dean and grabbed his throat. "But let's talk about that little stunt back there…" He threw Dean across the "room". "Did you honestly try to take back control?" He said, walking over Dean. He kicked him in the gut. "Never do that again. You need me to…"

"_I_ don't need _you_, _you_ need _me_ you son of a…"

Lucifer proceeded to beat Dean to a pulp. Dean lay curled up on the floor, still alive.

"I'm getting tired of your mouth, Dean." He frowned and got up.

"Great. Now Gabriel has _them_, too…"


	9. Chapter 8: Old Tricks

Sam looked around the unfamiliar room. It was a spacious loft. The curtains were drawn closed and it was sparsely furnished. He looked over to Cas and Crowley. Cas didn't acknowledge Sam. He was shaking, an icy fury dancing in his eyes. Crowley shrugged at Sam. Sam sighed; none of them knew what had happened.

A young, gaunt woman walked the room. She was wearing a sweatshirt far too big for her and was brushing her teeth. Her eyes widened when she saw the trio. She pulled the toothbrush out her mouth, toothpaste foam oozing out her lips. The woman tugged the sweatshirt down. "_SERIOUSLY_!? WHAT THE HE-" She then seemed struck with realization, and backed away. "**GABRIEL**!" She called.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Did you say "Gabriel"?"

"The one you know and love!" The infamous archangel said, popping into the room. He was sucking on a sucker. "Well, if it isn't my favorite people… And Crowley…"

The woman glared at Gabriel. "You brought them _here_? You couldn't have warned me first? You know; "Hey, Sybil! I'm bringing three of Hell's Most Wanted home, you might want to put on some pants"!?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes and took the sucker out his mouth. "Look, I didn't intend to. I didn't think they were gonna screw up so bad. I had to intervene. Deal with it!"

"But…! UGH!" She threw her hands up and stormed back down the hall.

Sam looked incredulously at Gabriel. "You're alive?"

Gabriel held his hands out. "Surprise!"

Sam tilted his head. "…How?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Dad."

The word seemed to snap Cas out of his trance. "Father!? God is back?"

Gabriel made the "so-so" gesture. "Kinda. He's not making any big appearances. After Heaven opened and you went back to help Sam, God called everyone else back. He pretty much told the other angels he wanted them to stay up in Heaven a while. They'd, quote, "done enough on Earth.""

He clapped Cas on the back. "Thanks to you, though, they were more willing to listen…" Gabriel said, sounding proud. Cas smiled, almost bashfully.

"But anyway, He brought me back to keep an eye on the new prophet…"

Sam pointed down the hall. "That girl?"

Gabriel nodded. "Agnes Shepard. But she prefers to be called "Sybil". She won't shut up if you don't."

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Wait. If that's why you're back, why didn't God bring you back when Kevin was activated?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "He already had two archangels looking out for them. Or at least their vessels." He said, nodding towards Sam. Sam felt pang of guilt at the mention of Kevin.

Crowley finally spoke up (to the amazement of his companions). "So, let me get this straight: there are no other angels at the moment?"

"Yup." Gabriel replied. "Just me, Cas, and Lucifer down here. Though I think Michael's somewhere. I haven't exactly seen him…"

Castiel shook his head. "Why did you have to intervene? We could have stopped…"

Gabriel glared at Castiel. "No. You couldn't. Last I checked, Lucifer was going to ventilate you," he said, pointing to the angel.

He then pointed to Crowley. "Make the ex-King of Hell here meat paste…" (Crowley pouted at the remark.)

He finally pointed to Sam. "And do who knows what to Sam." He shook his head. "Did you idiots even _have_ a plan?"

Cas looked contemplative. "Not really. Perhaps Sam could have taken Lucifer's archangel blade and…"

"Really? You think Sam would murder the brother he's trying to save? Especially if you're dead? Hell, YOU couldn't even take the blade from Lucifer! What makes you think Sam could?"

"I… Try not to underestimate The Winchesters. You should not, either…"

Gabriel groaned. "It's not about underestimating…!"

Sybil returned to the room, interrupting the argument. "Hey, do you guys need anything?"

Crowley raised a hand. "Got any Craig?"

Sybil frowned. "We have crappy gas station beer. Live with it."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Well. She's going to be a treat, I can tell. Worse than the last one…"

~0~

The group sat around a coffee table in the middle of the floor. They drank and ate. Sybil looked up. "So, lemme get this straight…" She said, her mouth full of takeout. She swallowed and pointed at Sam with her fork. "Lucifer's in your brother right now?"

Sam nodded.

"Dude, that is rough. You can't catch a break, can you? I mean, the suicidal depression, then the broken trust, then your boyfriend here being in a coma all that time…" She said, pointing to Crowley.

Crowley nearly spat out his beer. Sam got a puzzled look. "Um… He's not my boyfriend. He's not exactly my type." He said. Crowley was offended by the remark.

Sybil continued, "And Cas, I was pulling for you and Dean, after he said "screw you" to Gadreel and let you move in…"

"No such thing happened." Cas stated.

"Sybil?" Gabriel said, "You got things confused again…"

Sybil swore. "Sorry. My head's screwy. Sometimes, I see other universes instead of this one…"

"She wasn't even _supposed_ to be the prophet." Gabriel explained. "But _somebody_ saw the list of prophets," he raised an eyebrow at Crowley. Crowley raised his bottle in a mock toast. "So God had to improvise." Gabriel concluded.

"But I've gotten better, though!" Sybil protested.

"Yeah, you've kept it to this century lately. I swear, if you called for me in the middle of the night, sobbing about Cas, Dean, and Elvis records _one more time_…"

Sybil elbowed him.

"And it helps that you're quitting the d-"

She elbowed him harder.

Sam cleared his throat. "So she's why Lucifer came to Detroit…"

Gabriel nodded.

"I must say, our differences aside, I have to give God credit for finally choosing the right archangel…" Crowley said.

"Yup. My centuries as a coward are finally paying off…"

As the two continued their conversation (Sybil occasionally interjecting), Sam turned to Castiel. "Cas, can we talk?"

Castiel nodded. The two left the room, heading for the lone bedroom.


	10. Chapter 9: Outburst

Sybil's room was a manifestion of chaos. The floor was littered with blankets, clothes, and various odd objects (Sam swore he saw a spoon among the clutter). There were painted canvases, crookedly hung. The paintings all seemed to vaguely resemble something, but Sam couldn't place his finger on it. There were also words scrawled on the walls, resembling those on God's tablets. The bed was the sole piece of furniture. It was stripped of all but one blanket and a lumpy pillow. Castiel looked unnerved. Sam just shook his head.

Sam closed the door the door behind them. He looked Cas in the eye. "What's with you, lately?"

Cas tilted his head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You've been more violent lately. First the shifters, then the siren, now that fight with Lucifer! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I was willing to risk it, if it meant stopping him"

Cas slammed Sam into the wall. "Don't act like you're the only one who wants Dean back! That you're the only one looking for solutions!" He barked. "Or that you're the only one who knows the Hell he's going through. You're not the only one who's had Lucifer in their head, remember?"

Cas sighed. He eased up on Sam. "I would rip this world apart to get Dean back. And I'd do anything I can not to loose you, too. You're all I have left." He looked down. "All that time"

Sam gripped Cas's shoulders. He should've realized what had been wrong with him. After all, Cas had been through his own share of crap the past few years. "Cas, you know we're going to save Dean, right?"

Cas nodded.

"And Dean's clearly fighting back?"

Cas nodded again.

"Look, we both know too well Dean'd do anything for me. But I know he'd go to extremes for you, too. If you're looking after me for him, I need to do the same for you. We're partners. Got it?"

Castiel nodded, a small smile creeping to his lips. "I understand, Sam"

Sam shrugged. "I've slept worse places" Castiel replied.

Sybil smiled. "Good"

The two nodded and headed for the living room.

~0~

"'M tellin' ya, he wuznt injustif- enjusti- He wuznt wrong!" Crowley shouted drunkenly.

"Yeah, buuuuut that doesn't mean he could be a *hic* dick abut it!" Gabriel slurred.

"And Squ- Squirtle could? It wuz th' blooooody wankerz fault in th' first place!"

"He can make *hic* m-mistakes!"

"An' Moosey can't? Der too attached anyways *hic* Yur just a dick Yur a dickbeard!" He said, then laughed at his oh-so-cutting remark.

Crowley was about to cry about the vicious insult. Castiel finally spoke up. "Gabriel! Crowley!"

Gabe turned around and grinned. "Hey! M'little bro! *Hic* What's up?"

"Caaaaaaaaaassie! Hiz bein a meanie And other places" She gave Sam a look. "You're not pregnant with Impala/Human hybrids, are you?"

Sam looked confused. "No."

"Good." She rubbed her temples. "I hate seeing all these other universes!"

"Is it always that painful?"

Sybil shook her head. "Used to be worse. Gabe says my body needs to adjust more, given the retroactive prophet-making" She scratched her arm and sighed. "I didn't want this"

Sybil nodded. She laughed bitterly. "I could have it worse, though. I could be you"

Sam simply took a drink.


	11. Chapter 10: Unknown Roads

_ May 25, 2014_

_ We got back from Detroit last night. From what I hear, Gabriel and Sybil skipped town after we left. They didn't say where they were going. Though they gave us a number to call if we needed anything. At least we have more people to rely on._

~0~

_June 10, 2014_

_ Crowley's been gone a few days. He left The Bunker a day after Detroit. He didn't tell me where he was going, either._

_ "I've got some business to handle, Moose…" He told me._

_ "What sort of business? I asked._

_ "Oh, nothing. It's a personal matter…" He replied._

_ "How do I know you're not going to betray me?"_

_ He sighed at me. "Sam, let me tell you a funny thing: the more you expect me to screw you, the more likely I am to screw you in the end. And NOT in the fun way…" He replied, and exited The Bunker._

_ I'm not saying I'm worried about him. I'm just curious as to where he went. We just haven't heard from him. I hate not knowing…_

_ But at least Cas and I've been better. We're looking out for one another. We're even hunting again. _

_ Still little progress on Dean, though. We haven't heard much regarding Lucifer since Detroit. Doesn't help that Crowley's gone God knows where._

_ I know Dean's fighting Lucifer, I saw it back in Detroit. And we can still get to him. Hopefully we can save him…_

~0~

_June 12, 2014_

_ We just started a job in New York. It seemed pretty normal at first. Some people had made deals with some crossroads demon and got killed for it._

_ But then we started digging._

_ Turns out, a majority of the victims hadn't hit the ten year deadline. And to top it off, there were no signs of hellhounds. _

_ "A crossroads demon killing "clients" early again?" I told Cas. "If Crowley were here, he'd be fuming…"_

_ "I AM surprised Crowley hasn't intervened…" Cas mused. "He does value keeping deals…" _

_I guess self-preservation beats out personal integrity._

_ Anyway, things have taken another unexpected turn. We've met another hunter, Rachel Salt. She claims to know who the demon is. We're going to find out what she knows._

_ I have a feeling I'm not going to like it…_

~0~

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this sucker out. Writer's block. But hopefully I've gotten past that. Carry on, my Wayward Companions! -CH


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